Tommy's Restaurant and Lounge closes

WICHITA — A Wichita institution has come to an end.

Saturday was the last day of business for Tommy's Restaurant and Lounge.

"I guess you could say we were pretty underfunded from the beginning," owner Michael Redick says.

Redick bought the business at 2121 N. Tyler in February 2011 from longtime owner Tommy D’Annunzio.

D'Annunzio and Sonny Glennon, who owns Scotch & Sirloin, started the business as Tom & Sonny's at Douglas and West Street in 1979.

"We were trying to revitalize it," Redick says. "It was taking a legend on the west side and, you know, give it its life back."

Redick says he had no choice but to renovate.

"It was just an aged building," he says. The remodel "ate up all of our working capital."

The 7,000-square-foot space is twice what Redick says he needed.

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This story was originally published April 9, 2012 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Tommy's Restaurant and Lounge closes."